Topes Notes: Jordan Pacheco aims to turn Rockies bats as hot as New Mexico chile

Since the day he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2007, you could say Jordan Pacheco bled purple.

Sure, he played professionally for other teams, too. But when the Rockies, the organization that offered him his first coaching job as hitting coach of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes promoted him to his first major league gig in that same role, he made it clear.

“I’m really happy to be here. I’m really happy to help this organization, especially the organization I came up with,” Pacheco said. “I’m going to give it everything I got to help these guys get to where we need to be.”

But though his blood is purple, Pacheco’s DNA is all New Mexico. And that means there is another color he won’t compromise on, no matter his job.

Colorado has a cute, terribly misguided idea that they have green chile that can compete with the First Food of New Mexico.

So, how is the Albuquerque native, La Cueva High School graduate and former UNM Lobo star going to handle being in a place that could suggest something so absurd?

“I’m not about it,” Pacheco said. “I know where green chile comes from. I know where the best green chile is. ...

“Man, I got a lot of pride in being from New Mexico. I always make sure to tell people that, and everybody that I come in contact with in baseball knows where I’m from.”

The Rockies — who are third-to-last in batting average and have the most strikeouts in the majors — would love for Pacheco to turn their bats as hot as his home state’s chile.

For the 39-year-old Pacheco, his new appointment with the big league club is bittersweet.

On the one hand, it’s why he got into coaching — “They are some of the best players in the world. And when you can get their confidence where it needs to be, and you can get the commitment level pushing the rock the same way as a team, the sky’s the limit, man.”

On the other hand, the opportunity arose when people he is close with were fired in Rockies manager Bud Black, bench coach Mike Redmond and hitting coach Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens.

“Those guys helped me in a lot of ways of just learning how to handle this upper echelon of players and these superstars and and being able to talk to them and not just be their friend, but be their coach,” Pacheco said. “So, I will miss those guys. I will stay in touch with them, but I do appreciate everything that they’ve done.”

Pacheco was clearly a rising star on a trajectory for the majors — he interviewed to be the the Minnesota Twins hitting coach in the offseason, the Journal learned — and the Isotopes players couldn’t have been more supportive when he finally got the call.

When his promotion was announced in the team clubhouse, according to one person in the room who relayed the reaction to Isotopes radio announcer Josh Suchon, it was like the team won the PCL championship.

“It was awesome,” Pacheco said of that moment. “I mean, the guys have been great to me. Obviously, I hate leaving the guys that I was with this year. I feel like I have some unfinished business to help (the Isotopes) the guys get to their full potential. … It was good, man. I loved it when the guys were cheering. It made me feel good that you know that these guys respect me on that level, not just as their friend, but as their coach, and that I’m here to help them.”

Know the foe

The Isotopes (19-25, eighth place) start a six-game road series Tuesday night against the Reno Aces (21-24, tied for fifth place, Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate) at Greater Nevada Field.

Tuesday’s first game is at 6:05 p.m. and can be heard on 610 KNML-AM.

This is already the second six-game series between the two in Reno. The Aces took the last series 4-2 from April 22-27.

Mr. Clutch honored

Albuquerque infielder Ryan Ritter on Monday was named the PCL Player of the Week after delivering not one, not two, but three game-tying or game-winning hits in the ninth inning of three consecutive Isotopes wins during last week’s homestand vs. Tacoma.

For the week, the 24-year-old from Evergreen Park, Illinois, played in five of Albuquerque’s six games and went 10-for-22 at the plate with four doubles, two triples, a homer and nine RBIs.

He hit a walk-off RBI double in a 5-4 win on Thursday, sent Friday’s game into extra innings by tying the score at 12-12 with an RBI single and on Saturday, his two-run double tied the game at 6-6 and he later scored the winning run from third on a wild pitch.

Two for Taco

A winless homestand for Green Chile and a pair of wins for Taco moves the beloved chile race fan favorite into second place, still three wins behind season-leading Salsa Jar.

Red Chile won a pair of races last week, but still doesn’t seem to be in season.

Isotopes Park Chile Race standings as of May 19 (23 races):

9 wins — Salsa Jar

6 wins — Taco

5 wins — Green Chile

3 win — Red Chile

Next homestand

The Isotopes return home for a six-game series Tuesday, May 27 through June 1 against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.